Roy Henry Higgins

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

(5 June 19388 March 2014) was an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

jockey who rode from the late 1950s to the early 1980s. His talent in the saddle was to later earn him the nickname "The Professor".

Early life

Higgins was born in

Koondrook Koondrook ( ) is a town situated on the Murray River, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The town is located in the Shire of Gannawarra Local government in Australia, local government area, north west of the state capital, Melbourne. At ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

and grew up in the southern

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

town of

Deniliquin Deniliquin () is a town in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia, close to the border with Victoria. It is the largest town in the Edward River Council local government area. Deniliquin is located at the intersection of the Riverina ...

where, in 1953, he was apprenticed to local horse trainer Jim Watters.

Career

Despite a constant battle with his weight, Higgins won almost every major race on the Australian calendar. He rode a total of 2312 winners during his career and won the Melbourne Jockeys' Premiership a record-equalling 11 times. His first premiership win was in the 1964/65 racing season. Higgins won the

Melbourne Cup The Melbourne Cup is a Thoroughbred horse race held in Melbourne, Australia. It is a 3200-metre race for three-year-olds and over, conducted by the Victoria Racing Club on the Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Victoria as part of the Melbou ...

twice, on

Light Fingers Light Fingers (1961−1988) was a New Zealand bred thoroughbred racehorse who won the Melbourne Cup in 1965. In 2017 Light Fingers was inducted to the Australian Racing Hall of Fame. Background The lightly built chestnut was by the highly succes ...

in 1965 and

Red Handed Red Handed (1962−1990) was a New-Zealand bred, Australian-trained Thoroughbred racehorse, who won the 1967 Melbourne Cup. He was sired by the French stallion, Le Filou. His New Zealand bred dam, Red Might, was by Red Mars (GB). The horse wa ...

in 1967, both for trainer

Bart Cummings James Bartholomew Cummings (14 November 1927 – 30 August 2015), also known by his initials J. B. Cummings, was one of the most successful Australian racehorse trainers. He was known as the Cups King, referring to the Melbourne Cup, as he w ...

, one

Caulfield Cup The Caulfield Cup is a Melbourne Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race held under handicap conditions, although the Melbourne Racing Club is in the process of turning the race into weight for age (WFA) conditions. This is for all horses ...

, two W. S. Cox Plates, five

VRC Oaks The Victoria Racing Club Oaks (known as the Kennedy Oaks for sponsorship reasons), is a Victoria Racing Club (VRC) Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old fillies, run under set weights conditions, over 2,500 metres at Flemington Racec ...

, four

Victoria Derby The Victoria Derby, also known as the Penfolds Victoria Derby, is a Victoria Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held under Set Weights conditions over a distance of 2,500 metres at Flemington Racecourse, in Melbour ...

s, the

Blue Diamond Stakes The Blue Diamond Stakes is a Melbourne Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for two-year-olds, at set weights, run over 1200 metres at Caulfield Racecourse in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The event is Victoria's richest two-year-old race ...

and the

AJC Oaks The Australian Oaks is an Australian Turf Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for three year old fillies at set weights run over a distance of 2,400 metres at Randwick Racecourse, Sydney in the autumn during the ATC Championships series. The Aust ...

six times. He also won two

Sydney Cup The Sydney Cup is an Australian Turf Club Group 1 Thoroughbred handicap horse race, for horses three years old and older, run over 3200 metres at Randwick Racecourse in Sydney, Australia in the autumn during the ATC Championships series and it is ...

s and two

Golden Slipper Stakes The Golden Slipper Stakes is an Australian Turf Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for two-year-old horses run over 1,200 metres on turf at set weights conditions, held at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse in Sydney, Australia. It is the premier two y ...

. Some of the horses he was associated with were

Gunsynd Gunsynd (4 October 1967 – 29 April 1983) was a champion Australian Thoroughbred racehorse who won 29 races and A$280,455 in prize money. In his seven starts over one mile (1,600 metres) he was only once defeated, by half-a-head in the Epsom ...

, Leilani, Storm Queen, Sir Dane and

Big Philou Big Philou (foaled in 1965) was a notable New Zealand bred Thoroughbred racehorse. He was by the good sire Le Filou (imported from France) from Pink Lady by Contact and he was trained by Bart Cummings. He is best remembered for the controversy ...

. Higgins' last race ride was at Flemington in October 1983, after which he declared his ambition was "to be a little fat man". He continued to be employed in the racing industry as a commentator on TV and radio, particularly on Melbourne radio. He also lectured in the jockey training program at the Northern Lodge Training Centre of the

Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE Melbourne Polytechnic, formerly NMIT, is an institute of higher education and vocational education (TAFE) located in Melbourne, Australia that has been operating since around 1910. In October 2014, the institute was renamed to Melbourne Polyt ...

. Higgins was inducted into the

Sport Australia Hall of Fame The Sport Australia Hall of Fame was established on 10 December 1985 to recognise the achievements of Australian sportsmen and sportswomen. The inaugural induction included 120 members with Sir Don Bradman as the first inductee and Dawn Fraser th ...

in 1987.

Honours

In the June 1974 Queen's Birthday Honours, Higgins was made a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) for services to "Horse racing as a jockey".

Personal life

Higgins was married to Genine. Although they were separated they remained friends. They had two daughters.

Death

Higgins died in Melbourne on 8 March 2014, aged 75, following a short illness.

References

External links

SportsLink interviews with Higgins in 2008 and 2007

* ttp://www.dinkumaussies.com/SPORTING%20Oz%20Horse%20Racing%2FRoy%20Higgins.htm Dinkum Aussies - Roy Higgins * {{DEFAULTSORT:Higgins, Roy 1938 births 2014 deaths Australian Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees Australian Members of the Order of the British Empire Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees People from Deniliquin Jockeys from Melbourne